Author: ewladmin

Project management is a necessary part of running any type of business. Whether you have a service-based or a product-based business, there are inevitably a variety of projects that you will need to plan. But, you don’t have to make it too hard for yourself. In fact, you can make project management easy if you know what to do.

Use a Project Management System – There are many project management systems you can purchase, like Basecamp.com, Asana.com, Trello.com, and others. But, you can also use a calendar system, a physical planning book, or even a whiteboard. All that matters is that you have a system of some kind to use for each project.

Understand the Scope, Goals and Objectives of the Project – Once you understand these three things, you can easily develop the steps to get to the end goal or deliverable. When you focus on the deliverable and stay within the scope of the project, you’ll find that it’s a lot easier than you thought.

Do Your Research – For each deliverable, you may need to conduct some research to ensure that you’re using the right tools, and that you understand exactly what it takes to get to the finished product without missing any steps or forgetting something important.

Write a Project Outline – When you know what it takes, you can go through and write down all the steps it takes to get it done, starting with the goal or deliverable of your project. Right now, try to put things in chronological order. Some things may be done simultaneously, but some things will have to be done first before you move on to the next. This is important because for example if you are outsourcing part of the project, you can’t start on the next part until the first thing is done.

Develop Your Timeline – As you look at your outline, move it to a calendar or project management system. Put each item into your system, along with who is responsible for the task and when the expected due date is. Whether it’s a calendar, a planner, or an online project management system, enter it all in – every little detail.

Be Prepared to Adjust – Remember that you can always adjust the project dates and timeline as you move forward with the project. Always give yourself a little extra time on the schedule, especially if you have more than one or two people working on the project, to account for their issues too.

Let Your Experts Work – When you outsource, as long as your directions were clear and you’ve chosen experts, the work will be done on time and as directed. But sometimes it can take time to build a team that works well together. The important thing is to keep communication open, assign fair due dates, and give time for issues that may cause problems for everyone.

Basically, it’s all about understanding that managing a project is just about figuring out what the deliverables are, how they will be completed by the deadline, and by whom, and what is expected of everyone on the team. Then, it needs to be put into an organizational system (whether a calendar, a spreadsheet, a file sharing system or a project management system) in order to keep it all organized and going smoothly.

You’ll also have access to a huge library of other expert interviews, courses and resources for turning your writing skills into a living. You’ll love our Quick Start Success Kit that will you publish and market your first book or information product quickly!

Free gifts or “Thank You” gifts entice your audience to join or opt-in to your mailing list. It’s also a very effective marketing strategy. However, it’s only effective if the freebie is useful, valuable and of high quality. Your freebies pull double duty for you. They serve as samples and examples of your products, services, values, ethics, and expertise. They also enable you to reach more of the people who want and need the products and services you provide.

If you are serious about getting more subscribers/clients, your freebies should be top-notch and something that your audience needs. Ideally, you want to create the freebie only once. However, under certain circumstances, you may want to make a slightly edited version for a different segment of your target market. Here are a few free gifts you may want to consider offering subscribers.

Ebooks – These are great instant gifts, especially if it’s a book you normally sell. This gives it a greater perceived value. When your visitors see that you are a “giving” person, they are more willing to buy from you.

Reports– A report is just a short eBook that is more focused on solving one problem, instead of a complete guide on the topic like a book would be. If you had a website about vegetarianism, you could, for instance, offer a free pantry check sheet, measurement conversion, or substitution chart for your readers to use.

Coupons– People like getting coupons. Offer your visitors a coupon code for signing up for your email list. Don’t discount your work too much, though, because that devalues what you do.

Videos– Offer a short video that teaches or informs your audience how to do something that will benefit them. An example might be a “How to Install WordPress Editorial Calendar” or “How to Get Perfect Poached Eggs Every Time.”

Checklists– An awesome freebie to give your audience are checklists. People want to save time and checklists can help them do just that.

Charts– Offer your audience a chart or graph that helps them to visualize a complex concept. Pair the chart with a brief explanation of its meaning and relevance.

Related Items Bundle– Compile of all of the above if you want to offer an outstanding freebie to your list subscribers. This is a great way to give them an overall sampling of what you do well.

Ecourse– This is a must-have, especially if you are also a coach. You can provide the course through email or in an eLearning “classroom” type of setting. If you provide eBooks, this might be an introduction to or extension of one of the topics.

Challenge– Offering a niche-related challenge via email is a super way to encourage readers to step outside of their comfort zone or to reach their next goal. Consider including a time or point when you give them personal feedback during or after the completion of the challenge.

Cheat sheets – These quick “reminders” are a great way to teach your audience or provide information that is a bit complex or lengthy. An example you may be familiar with is the emoticons with the keys used to make the symbol like this smiley face : ) .

Templates – You can create all sorts of templates that will help your audience complete a specific task or activity. Depending on your niche/services, you may want to offer a few eBook templates for your clients to use.

Blueprints– Blueprints are wonderful way to share or explain a detailed concept. For example, you can create a blueprint for clients that explains, step-by-step, “How to Get Readers Excited and Ready to Buy”.

Planners– Offer a fill-in-the-blank content planner to help your audience plan, order, and schedule content. Be sure to brand the planner with your site logo and link. You may also want to include a few planning tips or associate this download with a “Planning” or “Efficient Content” mailing list where you can offer even more planning tips along the way.

Audio– Provide a free audio, where you share tips. Interview someone in your client’s niche. Interview someone about marketing or another topic that all your client’s can use. The interview can help you gain additional attention and recognition, depending on who you interview.

Case study – Give away a case study related to the type of writing or editing you do. For example, if you specialize in writing blog or website content, you might want to offer a case study with the latest statistics about fonts (size, color, styles, combinations, etc.)

Graphics– Depending on your niche, you may be familiar with your audience’s needs and usage of graphics. If you also do graphic work, or know someone who does, you may want to give away public domain images, which have been edited to include phrases, tips, quotes, etc., that relate to your audience’s needs. For example, if you cater to home and family sites, you could offer 25 topic related memes with quotes related to home and family.

Private Facebook (or similar) Group– Give new subscribers access to an “insiders” group where they can get info related to their niche and/or business. Keep this group “by invitation only” so it’s more exclusive and is perceived as having greater value.

Pre-recorded webinars –Offer free access to a pre-recorded webinar that you conducted or participated in. This helps potential clients view you as an authority and/or a leader in your niche. In addition, you get to JV with your peers and stir up a buzz.

Free Pass– Give away a free pass to your next webinar, event, workshop, etc. You can limit this to a specific number of people (spots) or by time, where people have to sign-up during a certain period. Keep in mind that the event or activity should be relative to your audience’s needs. For example, a writer specializing in local business would need to make sure that local business issues and interests were covered.

Guide to…– Create a guide your potential clients and your audience would find helpful. Your free sign-up gift guide will be specific to your niche audience. For example, if your ideal target market includes new online business owners, you may need to create a guide, which explains the different types of content they may need and how you can help them. A guide to online safety might also be appropriate.

Plugins & apps– Offering a plugin or app may be a bit beyond your ability. If you have a coder friend, they may be able to help you create one. There are also some apps/plugins that you can buy with the right to brand them as your own and give them away.

Free trial– Nothing makes people more willing to take the plunge and take a chance than a free, limited-time trial of a product or service.

Contest entry– Hold a contest. Give new sign-ups an extra entry into the contest or drawing. Another option might just be the standard “enter to win” strategy.

Worksheets– You can give away a variety of worksheets. In fact, you may want to provide a bundle of them. They could include a traffic tracking spreadsheet, keyword worksheet, content ordering form (with the info you need), affiliate product sheet, promotion calendar, etc.

Free consultation– Help your audience get to know you by offering a free consultation, when they sign up. The consultation can be done through email, on the phone or via skype.

Book preview– Offer a free preview of your next book (a few chapters) or digital product. This is also a great way to make pre-sales before launch. Ask for feedback.

Freebie of the month membership– Offer a free membership to a freebie of the month club. People love freebies. You can provide a helpful, valuable, free download item, such as images, checklists, guides, comparison charts, calendar pages, and more. You could also create a more complex, related item or package to sell each month.

Tangible Items– Offer a tangible item such as a promotional calendar, pen, t-shirt, 3-ring binder, or other helpful promotional items. This is especially appropriate if your target market is mostly made up of local business owners.

Encouraging people to opt in and subscribe to your list is an important part of making your business successful. The major money is still in the email list, even when you market in other places. Get your target market on your mailing list by giving them something helpful and valuable, while you build a better relationship and make more sales.

What to Do Next: Get $10 Off Our Profiting from Free Offers Templates

Essential List Building Insider’s Strategy Guide that shares some of the hottest strategies for profiting from free offers and shows you exactly how to use your templates for maximum benefit.

Then you get some very useful templates and editable funnel diagrams to help you design the perfect free offer including:

Free Opt-in Offer Templates

You get a template for your sign up page, thank you page and thank you email to ensure you have a winning offer for your free report or other free gifts you provide on subscription.

Free Opt-in Offer Funnel Diagram Template & Example

The example opt-in offer funnel diagram is designed to show you what a real opt-in offer funnel may look like. It will help you map out your own offer and when you’re ready use the included template to insert the details of your opt-in offer.

Free Consultation Offer Page Templates

If you offer free consultations, we’ve got a template for your sign up page, thank you page and thank you email.

Free Consultation Offer Funnel Diagram Template & Example

Get the best results from your consultation offers with this editable funnel template that helps you map out your process.

Free Webinar Offer Page Templates

Get more sign ups and better results for your free webinar with these sign up page, thank you page and thank you email templates.

Free Webinar Offer Funnel Diagram Template & Example

Ensure more success with your webinars, by mapping out your funnel with this editable template. We’ve included an example to help you create the right funnel for you.

Free with Paid Shipping Offer Page Templates

Free offers where the customer pays shipping can be very lucrative and are a great way to turn your buyers into high ticket customers and clients. You get the sign up page template, thank you page template and a than you email template too.

Free with Paid Shipping Offer Template & Example

The example free offer with paid shipping funnel diagram is designed to show you what a real free offer with paid shipping funnel may look like. It will help you map out your own offer and when you’re ready use the included template to insert the details of your free offer with paid shipping.

Over 200 million people sign into their Instagram accounts each and every day…and one billion use it each month, making it a platform worth paying attention to.

But online marketers often get frustrated because it’s not a platform that makes it easy to share links. HOWEVER, it’s the perfect platform for growing a loyal following, good branding and plenty of traffic…if you do it right. And when you consider it has a 2.2% interaction rate which is MUCH bigger than Facebook’s 0.22% rate, there is plenty of potential.

The tone and the content on Instagram is vastly different from Facebook and Twitter. While you may see plenty of political rants, arguments, and offensive statements on other platforms, Instagram’s audience is generally more relaxed. Of course, you can still find this stuff going on on Instagram too, but you have to look for it.

These users are typically focused on posting feel-good content. Some of the most popular hashtags on the network include…

• #love

• #instagood

• #photooftheday

• #fashion

• #beautiful

• #happy

• #cute

• #tbt

• #art

• #selfie

Two Best Practices for Brands on Instagram

Hashtags are Still King on Instagram

Hashtags aren’t popular on every social network. People rarely use them on Facebook but love them on Twitter. So, should your brand use hashtags on Instagram?

Yes, you should. Instagram limits hashtags to 30 per caption. That number may sound high but many users opt for 5-15 hashtags per photo. Not only can you use dozens of hashtags, but they’re also very popular on Instagram. Users frequently search using hashtags so they can discover new content.

But keep in mind that Instagram doesn’t want you spamming. Don’t add hashtags to your photo simply because they receive a lot of traffic. Only use a tag like “#dogsofinstagram” if there’s actually a dog in your photo or if your image is related to the topic.

You should also use your own branded hashtag with your photos. This makes it easy for people who are already fans of your company or product to find you easily on Instagram. It’s also a terrific way to inspire others to post about your products.

Links

One thing that sets Instagram apart is that links in your captions aren’t actual links. Users can’t click through that link to get to your website. Instead, users have to navigate to your profile and click the link in your bio. Many people use the phrase “link in bio” so their followers know how to find the content they’re posting about.

Most marketers and brands use this link to drive traffic back to their main website. That’s a good idea but it’s not the best use for this space.

Instead, update your bio link and replace it with the one page on your site that you want your Instagram users to visit. If you’re uploading a photo to promote your new blog post, then change the link in your Instagram bio to that post. It might be challenging to do this but it’s a simple tactic to direct traffic where you need it to go.

And remember, when you reach 10,000 followers, you can get active links in your stories, which gives you TONS of potential for traffic.

If you’re trying to create a Facebook Story to create your business…good news! It’s easy to do. Let’s run through the basics of getting it done.

To create a story, go to your Facebook Page or Group (or do it from your personal profile if you’re uploading to your personal profile) on your mobile device.

Just click to “add to story” and you can upload a picture or video or take a photo to upload. Don’t worry about having your story completely ready, you can add text and other effects before you publish your story.

Just remember, photos and videos will be in portrait format. You CAN add landscape. Videos can be up to 20 seconds long.

Once you have your content, you can add filters, masks, and/or text or doodles. Save each image on your camera roll before moving on to the next image just in case—you don’t want to lose all your hard work.

Add text to your stories.

Add locations, times, polls, tag people and add stickers.

Doodle on your stories.

Facebook Stories offer a wide range of special effects. Try them out over time, but avoid creating cluttered stories, so think minimalistic. Too many effects can overwhelm your viewers as well as obscure the image or video’s purpose.

Your main goal is to present your business in its best possible light. You want your work to stand out without looking unprofessional or gaudy. Stick to your brand color scheme as much as possible to aid in brand awareness.

The text overlay will probably be your most important tool. You can use it to create your cover page, section pages, captions on images, and more. You may also want to consider using the paintbrush and pen tools to highlight items in your stories.

Facebook offers 3 publishing options. You can post your content to your mobile timeline, directly to one or more friends/connections (using the “@” symbol and their name), or to your story. This variety of options makes it easy for you to send your stories specifically to the people who would be most interested in the information.

Now, if that’s a bit confusing…there’s nothing to worry about. We’ve made a bunch of templates for you. Just add your text and/or images and go…

What to Do Next: Get $10 Off Our Done-for-You Facebook Story Templates

• Insider’s Strategy Guide: Facebook Stories can boost engagement and allow you to reach your audience in ways never before possible. This guide will give you the tools you need to get started.

• 6 Call to Action Graphics: These templates can be used to give your visitors an action to take such as downloading your free offer, joining your Facebook Live or signing up for your free class.

• 24 Blank Facebook Story Templates: These attractive templates can be customized with your calls to action, inspirational words, notice of a sale or whatever you would like to share with your audience in your Facebook Story. Add your own text to these templates (Photoshop not needed).

If you’ve got a huge Facebook audience, it’s probably easy to just throw anything into your Facebook Story and it’s sure to gain traction. BUT if you’ve got a small and growing audience, you’re going to have to add a bit more strategy to appealing to your audience and capturing their attention, so they’ll want to view your stories on an ongoing basis.

Certain types of content have a higher appeal to your target market than others do. Knowing what your audience prefers is very important to your overall success, as well as the level of engagement your story receives. When you implement stories using the content and information your viewers want, you’re more likely to get a good deal of engagement.

Here are a few suggestions to help you discover exactly what compels your viewers to take action and engage with your story. Be sure you track the results so you can repeat your successes by following the same steps. Give these a try and see how your audience responds. Make a note which types work best.

Behind The Scenes

Behind the scenes videos and images let people get to know you, your values, and your items better. This also helps you to build trust as well as greater brand recognition, especially if you include your logo in the visual story. If you are a sole proprietor, share the story of how you first started out in business. If you are a company, share staff stories about what they do and what motivates them.

When you are working on a new product, give them a sneak preview. If you are hosting a webinar or live event, use video excerpts (or teasers) to entice people to attend live, or to view recordings afterwards.

Once your target audience feels that they know and trust you, this can stimulate brand loyalty, which can in turn bring sales, repeat sales, and/or a desire to share your content with others.

Informative Demonstrations

Demonstrations are an ideal way to market products and services. In your stories, share hints, tips and how-tos, as a series of images with text overlay and/or videos. “Seeing is believing,” as they say. This is particularly true and works well for your visual and hands-on learners.

In addition, demos show off your expertise. Address the main issues your target audience has, in relation to your niche. Plan your story content around them. Save the stories to your camera roll, within your Instagram account. Doing this repeatedly allows you to build a library of useful content you can publish regularly there and on Facebook. As your number of followers grows, they will be able to see these stories.

Intriguing Teasers

People love movie trailers and sneak previews. Create stories made from snippets of a larger work. Include a strong call to action and a clickable link where your viewers can learn more on the topic. Keep in mind that teasers are meant to pique interest, not tell the whole story. This is often accomplished by sharing exciting clips and ending the teaser with a cliff-hanger to make them want to see the rest of the longer story/video.

Exclusive Offers

Stories are a great way to provide exclusive, limited time offers to a specific group or to fast-acting viewers. Use a coupon code to track the success of each offer you create. Save the best holiday or yearly promotions on your camera roll so you can re-use them. Prospective followers are more likely to follow you and engage with your stories if you give them a good reason to do so. Exclusive, valuable offers fit that bill.

User-Generated Content

User-generated content can help create buzz around your business. It can also take the burden off you a little in relation to constantly having to come up with fresh content for your site, blog and social accounts.

Run contests to get images, captions, videos and so on, making it clear that the best content will be used by you. Ask for video reviews and testimonials. Ask for questions and answer them. Invite guest bloggers. Giving your target audience the chance to provide feedback shows you care and promotes engagement.

You could also invite a takeover. Pay attention to those who are most diligent about following you on Instagram. Let them take over your account for 24 hours to publish what they feel is useful content. It gives you a break for a day and gives your audience a new “voice” to pay attention to.

Surveys, Polls & Activities

Learn more about your audience so you can serve them better. Ask them what they need help with. Get their opinions regarding options for your next product, have them vote on the options they want most. Plan to do random, prize drawings. These can keep things interesting and engaging.

Those are just a few ideas to try out and see how your audience likes them. Never stop experimenting and keep engaging that audience. It’s worth it to have you on their mind.

What to Do Next: Get $10 Off Our Done-for-You Facebook Story Templates

• Insider’s Strategy Guide: Facebook Stories can boost engagement and allow you to reach your audience in ways never before possible. This guide will give you the tools you need to get started.

• 6 Call to Action Graphics: These templates can be used to give your visitors an action to take such as downloading your free offer, joining your Facebook Live or signing up for your free class.

• 24 Blank Facebook Story Templates: These attractive templates can be customized with your calls to action, inspirational words, notice of a sale or whatever you would like to share with your audience in your Facebook Story. Add your own text to these templates (Photoshop not needed).

Facebook Stories have been around for some time and you’ve probably viewed other people’s and companies stories…and maybe even created some yourself.

But have you considered how Facebook Stories can benefit your business? They can engage your audience, grow your list and even sell more products, services and books.

Facebook Stories are not quite what we usually think of as “stories”. They’ve based on visuals rather than written content (images, video and some text) and they have a limited run of 24 hours. Plus, your story will only show for 20 seconds before the next story is shown, unless the user decides to pause your story. Therefore, it’s important that you learn as much as possible about creating and using these visual Facebook stories to drive brand awareness, grow your list, and increase sales.

As you create your stories, it’s essential you ensure that they are well-planned, eye-catching, and actionable. But let’s start by looking at Facebook Stories can be so important to your business.

Why Use Facebook Stories

You know that visual content is steadily gaining in popularity among potential customers and subscribers, as well as business owners and marketers. So, it’s probably no surprise that Facebook Stories are becoming more popular too. As new visual marketing options develop, try each one out to find out which ones your audience responds better to. Here are a few reasons you may want to try and then implement Facebook Stories in your marketing plan.

Facebook is also actively encouraging videos, memes, and stories rather than written content. In fact, their CEO has predicted that the majority of content on Facebook will be video by the year 2020, putting them head to head with the extremely popular YouTube.

Facebook does have some drawbacks. It does not show content to all of your followers, only a certain percentage (such as 10%). In order to get more visibility, the post has to get engagement, such as Likes, Comments, and Shares. If it does receive some type of response or acknowledgement, it will be posted more widely. Those sharing it will also help spread the content.

Your Facebook Stories also have a lineup of content, so it will show the most recent thing you have published, even though you might have published several items since your followers were last online. Facebook Stories can be a good format to publish in because they are attention-grabbing, as compared to other types of posts. The downside is they only last 24 hours before they vanish.

Knowing the advantages, disadvantages, and business benefits related to Instagram and Facebook can help you make the right choices for your business needs as well as your audience’s needs. With that in mind, let’s take a look at your goals to assist you in making your decisions.

Meeting Your Facebook Story Goals

Start by setting goals for each story, such as driving traffic, gaining new subscribers, making sales, promoting brand awareness, and much more. Knowing what attracts your audience, visually, and what info or solutions they want from you, will help your stories stand out from the others.

Traffic Goals

Getting traffic to your site often includes providing a clickable link to learn more. A story can work well for this, especially if it is breaking news or a special sale that will be here today and gone tomorrow. Add text and a link to photos and videos (the links are not clickable, so ensure that you created an easy-to-type URL for your follower). Track your results. Without those, you won’t know exactly what you did right or what worked best.

Subscriber Goals

A lot of marketers rely heavily on social media. This can result in neglecting to build a solid mailing list. Yet, the two strategies can work well together. Email marketing is extremely effective when it comes to reaching your target audience, building long-term relationships, and compelling readers to take action. However, before you can accomplish all of that, you need to get them to opt-in to your list with an offer they can’t wait to get.

There was a time when offering newsletter updates or notifications excited potential subscribers enough to sign up to mailing lists. However, that is definitely not the case now. Your prospective subscribers want and expect more value. You can provide this valuable, free item in multiple ways.

A free ebook download, a free multi-lesson eCourse, are both attractive incentives to gain subscribers. In this case, your story would be all about the benefits of the item, with a link to sign up for the list and then receive their item.

Sales Goals

Let’s face it. Sales help you keep the lights on. Whether you offer your own line of products and services or recommend affiliates’ items, you need to make sales. Creating a story for each offer enables you to showcase the item’s features and benefits.

Many business owners automatically plan to incorporate visual social media stories into new product launches and promotions. This is because they can create a huge buzz when shared on multiple social sites, albeit short-term.

However, when you use social story offers with other marketing methods, such as social media posts, ads, and email marketing, you increase your chances of meeting your goals and making more sales.

Brand Goals

You need to see and be seen. Maintaining a social media presence and embracing new marketing methods keeps you in your audience’s mind. Social media marketing is a way to put yourself on the map. Every social network specializes in a specific content type, even though they may offer other options. Right now, stories are hot and growing in popularity.

On Facebook, stories are currently receiving greater visibility. When you add relevant, interesting, problem-solving stories, your brand reach increases, as does your brand recognition. Publish great content regularly and you will soon have everyone talking about you, and your products/services.

What to Do Next: Get $10 Off Our Done-for-You Facebook Story Templates

• Insider’s Strategy Guide: Facebook Stories can boost engagement and allow you to reach your audience in ways never before possible. This guide will give you the tools you need to get started.

• 6 Call to Action Graphics: These templates can be used to give your visitors an action to take such as downloading your free offer, joining your Facebook Live or signing up for your free class.

• 24 Blank Facebook Story Templates: These attractive templates can be customized with your calls to action, inspirational words, notice of a sale or whatever you would like to share with your audience in your Facebook Story. Add your own text to these templates (Photoshop not needed).

If you want to be more successful in your freelance career, it’s important to understand the best practices for pitching new clients that help you win the client. Finding leads and pitching to them is the biggest challenge to having a financially stable and successful freelance writing career.

Know Who Your Ideal Client Is

It is imperative before talking to any new writing customer that you know who your ideal client is. If you have some criteria to fit, it’s going to make it easier not to waste your time with people who either cannot afford your services are interested in totally different types of writing. For example, if you write blog content that is not the same as copywriting.

Establish Creditability

Create an effective website, set up social accounts, and be active on them both. You want to be active with purpose though. Add content to your blog, share it on social, answer questions on social, and do what you can to show and demonstrate your expertise in this area with testimonials, referrals, and news articles about you.

Qualify Any New Leads

When you do get a new lead, take the time to match them to your ideal client persona before you move on with them. A good way to do this is to use a system like scheduling.com to set up a questionnaire that helps qualify them before they can set up an appointment with you.

Personalize Your Proposals

When you send anyone a proposal don’t make it boilerplate. Instead, personalize your proposal based off your conversation with the potential new client. Line by line they should understand that you get what they want because your proposal describes accurately what they said.

Be Confident in Your Writing Skills

In your pitch avoid using words that signify that you’re not confident in your skills. Phrases like “I think,” “I believe” and “I’m new,” do not invoke confidence. Instead, state everything matter-of-factly like the expert you are. Do not apologize or justify asking for money for your services.

Follow Directions

If you submit a pitch based off a proposal, it’s critical that you follow the directions. Double check the directions after you think you’re done. Check off each point that you made based on the proposal, so you don’t miss anything.

Pitch Often

If you want to have a successful freelance writing career that brings in money on a steady basis, you’ll want to try pitching at least one new client every single day. To do that, set up a process to attract and convert such as a sales funnel that will provide you with new people to pitch too often. You can also try job boards, groups, and other places to find clients.

It’s About Them

Remember that in your pitch, even when you’re talking about yourself, frame it from their perspective. How do your 20 years of writing experience affect them exactly?

Save Any Successful Pitches

When you do have a successful pitch save it so that you can pull from it for your next ideal client who comes to you for an interview or discovery call. As you perfect your pitching process, you’ll see an exponentially higher return on investment.

Pitching new clients is going to be a daily function of your job as a freelance writer. For some people, this aspect of freelancing is not their favorite thing. However, even if you don’t like it, you must do it and perhaps we can help make it a bit easier…

What to Do Next: Get $10 Off Our Done-for-You Client Acquisition Templates

• Insider’s Strategy Guide: Getting and retaining customers is crucial to the success of your business. This guide will give you the tools you need to do just that and show you exactly how to use the templates included.

• Client Benefit List: Show potential clients your services and offers benefit them. Use this list of 30 benefits to help you get started.

• 30 Ways to Get Referrals From Your Clients List: Referrals help you build credibility and relationships with potential clients. Use this list to help you get referrals from your existing clients in ways you may not have thought of.

• Personalize Your Client Letters List: Use this list of 30 personalizations to help you create great client letters that will help you convey your message as well as make solid and meaningful connections.

• Cold Email & Cold Email Follow Up Templates: Use these email templates to reach out to potential clients you are interested in working with.

• Event Follow-Up Email Template: Use this email template to follow up with a potential client that you met at a live event.

• After Consultation Email Template: Use this template to send a thoughtful follow up after a consultation meeting.

• Request Testimonials Email Template: Use this email template to request a testimonial from clients you’ve successfully worked with.

• Request Referrals Email Template: Referrals help you build authority and credibility with your clients. Use this template to help you request referrals from your existing or past clients.

• Get More Work Email Template: Use this template to offer gifts or incentives to clients you’d like to work with again.

• Offer for Retainer Email Template: Use this template t offer a retainer package to your clients and explain the benefits.

• Introduction Email Template: This template can be used to reach out to a potential client who was referred to you by a mutual friend.

• Client Engagement Email Template: Use this template to send to your clients after they agreed to start working with you.

Many freelancers give up eventually. They get tired and find a normal job. The main reason is due to not understanding how to attract clients. Instead, they simply do a few one-off projects that pay low and are not very satisfying or lucrative.

Eventually, this weighs on them because of the uncertainty, the inability to create a stable income, and feeling as they’re always working. Then they give up. Thankfully, you don’t need to give up. You’re going to learn right now how to start attracting clients instead of chasing work. The answer involves developing a freelance writing sales funnel.

Leads and Prospects

Finding leads that you can develop into prospects is a lot easier if you have a sales funnel because a lot of the process of turning someone into a qualified prospect happens automatically. Just for future reference, a lead becomes a prospect after engaging with you in a way that shows they are qualified to purchase and will purchase although it might not be from you.

To generate leads, you need to get your message out to more people. You can blog, post on social sites, and go to networking events. You can also get listed on various writer sites if you join their organization. You can also create a lead magnet for your ideal client to help convert them to your email list where you can nurture them with automatic emails that you previously created.

Where Does Your Ideal Client Get Their Information?

One thing to keep in mind is that you want to know your clients enough that they want what you offer. All you must do is put it in front of them where they are. It’s much easier selling to someone who already needs what you are offering than trying to convince people that they need to hire a writer. Find people who you know need writers and like to hire freelancers and make yourself known to them.

When you find leads, who need your services, then it’s time to qualify them. It’s easier if they qualify or disqualify themselves which is where your own content on your own site, in your email autoresponder messages, in your questionnaires, and on your website is going to help weed out people.

Nurture Your Existing and Former Clients Plus Prospects

Segment each of these groups but ensure that you generate enough messages and information for them to learn about your services and availability. Send your blog posts to them, like their posts on social media, answer questions they ask wherever they’re asking them, and if possible, you may want to call them to check up on them depending on your niche and audience.

You can also deliver retargeting advertisements to them once they visit your site using a pixel or sign up for your email list using their email address. Even old clients might like seeing an advertisement from you about a special you’re having when they’re on Facebook talking to their family. Since they know you, they’ll appreciate being told about it, and since people don’t always open email, this is a great way to do it.

Finally, once someone signs up for a discovery call or otherwise wants to set up a contract with you the key to working with clients over one-off work is to go for clients who need regular work completed. PLR salespeople, popular bloggers, YouTube stars, coaches, and so many more people need regular content. Think of all the content you need to market your business to attract prospects into your funnel. They need the same thing only written to a different audience.

What to Do Next: Get $10 Off Our Done-for-You Client Acquisition Templates

• Insider’s Strategy Guide: Getting and retaining customers is crucial to the success of your business. This guide will give you the tools you need to do just that and show you exactly how to use the templates included.

• Client Benefit List: Show potential clients your services and offers benefit them. Use this list of 30 benefits to help you get started.

• 30 Ways to Get Referrals From Your Clients List: Referrals help you build credibility and relationships with potential clients. Use this list to help you get referrals from your existing clients in ways you may not have thought of.

• Personalize Your Client Letters List: Use this list of 30 personalizations to help you create great client letters that will help you convey your message as well as make solid and meaningful connections.

• Cold Email & Cold Email Follow Up Templates: Use these email templates to reach out to potential clients you are interested in working with.

• Event Follow-Up Email Template: Use this email template to follow up with a potential client that you met at a live event.

• After Consultation Email Template: Use this template to send a thoughtful follow up after a consultation meeting.

• Request Testimonials Email Template: Use this email template to request a testimonial from clients you’ve successfully worked with.

• Request Referrals Email Template: Referrals help you build authority and credibility with your clients. Use this template to help you request referrals from your existing or past clients.

• Get More Work Email Template: Use this template to offer gifts or incentives to clients you’d like to work with again.

• Offer for Retainer Email Template: Use this template t offer a retainer package to your clients and explain the benefits.

• Introduction Email Template: This template can be used to reach out to a potential client who was referred to you by a mutual friend.

• Client Engagement Email Template: Use this template to send to your clients after they agreed to start working with you.

Free gifts or “Thank You” gifts entice your audience to join or opt-in to your mailing list. It’s also a very effective marketing strategy. However, it’s only effective if the freebie is useful, valuable and of high quality. Your freebies pull double duty for you. They serve as samples and examples of your products, services, values, ethics, and expertise. They also enable you to reach more of the people who want and need the products and services you provide.

If you are serious about getting more subscribers/clients, your freebies should be top-notch and something that your audience needs. Ideally, you want to create the freebie only once. However, under certain circumstances, you may want to make a slightly edited version for a different segment of your target market. Here are a few free gifts you may want to consider offering subscribers.

Ebooks – These are great instant gifts, especially if it’s a book you normally sell. This gives it a greater perceived value. When your visitors see that you are a “giving” person, they are more willing to buy from you.

Reports– A report is just a short eBook that is more focused on solving one problem, instead of a complete guide on the topic like a book would be. If you had a website about vegetarianism, you could, for instance, offer a free pantry check sheet, measurement conversion, or substitution chart for your readers to use.

Coupons– People like getting coupons. Offer your visitors a coupon code for signing up for your email list. Don’t discount your work too much, though, because that devalues what you do.

Videos– Offer a short video that teaches or informs your audience how to do something that will benefit them. An example might be a “How to Install WordPress Editorial Calendar” or “How to Get Perfect Poached Eggs Every Time.”

Checklists– An awesome freebie to give your audience are checklists. People want to save time and checklists can help them do just that.

Charts– Offer your audience a chart or graph that helps them to visualize a complex concept. Pair the chart with a brief explanation of its meaning and relevance.

Related Items Bundle– Compile of all of the above if you want to offer an outstanding freebie to your list subscribers. This is a great way to give them an overall sampling of what you do well.

Ecourse– This is a must-have, especially if you are also a coach. You can provide the course through email or in an eLearning “classroom” type of setting. If you provide eBooks, this might be an introduction to or extension of one of the topics.

Challenge– Offering a niche-related challenge via email is a super way to encourage readers to step outside of their comfort zone or to reach their next goal. Consider including a time or point when you give them personal feedback during or after the completion of the challenge.

Cheat sheets – These quick “reminders” are a great way to teach your audience or provide information that is a bit complex or lengthy. An example you may be familiar with is the emoticons with the keys used to make the symbol like this smiley face : ) .

Templates – You can create all sorts of templates that will help your audience complete a specific task or activity. Depending on your niche/services, you may want to offer a few eBook templates for your clients to use.

Blueprints– Blueprints are wonderful way to share or explain a detailed concept. For example, you can create a blueprint for clients that explains, step-by-step, “How to Get Readers Excited and Ready to Buy”.

Planners– Offer a fill-in-the-blank content planner to help your audience plan, order, and schedule content. Be sure to brand the planner with your site logo and link. You may also want to include a few planning tips or associate this download with a “Planning” or “Efficient Content” mailing list where you can offer even more planning tips along the way.

Audio– Provide a free audio, where you share tips. Interview someone in your client’s niche. Interview someone about marketing or another topic that all your client’s can use. The interview can help you gain additional attention and recognition, depending on who you interview.

Case study – Give away a case study related to the type of writing or editing you do. For example, if you specialize in writing blog or website content, you might want to offer a case study with the latest statistics about fonts (size, color, styles, combinations, etc.)

Graphics– Depending on your niche, you may be familiar with your audience’s needs and usage of graphics. If you also do graphic work, or know someone who does, you may want to give away public domain images, which have been edited to include phrases, tips, quotes, etc., that relate to your audience’s needs. For example, if you cater to home and family sites, you could offer 25 topic related memes with quotes related to home and family.

Private Facebook (or similar) Group– Give new subscribers access to an “insiders” group where they can get info related to their niche and/or business. Keep this group “by invitation only” so it’s more exclusive and is perceived as having greater value.

Pre-recorded webinars –Offer free access to a pre-recorded webinar that you conducted or participated in. This helps potential clients view you as an authority and/or a leader in your niche. In addition, you get to JV with your peers and stir up a buzz.

Free Pass– Give away a free pass to your next webinar, event, workshop, etc. You can limit this to a specific number of people (spots) or by time, where people have to sign-up during a certain period. Keep in mind that the event or activity should be relative to your audience’s needs. For example, a writer specializing in local business would need to make sure that local business issues and interests were covered.

Guide to…– Create a guide your potential clients and your audience would find helpful. Your free sign-up gift guide will be specific to your niche audience. For example, if your ideal target market includes new online business owners, you may need to create a guide, which explains the different types of content they may need and how you can help them. A guide to online safety might also be appropriate.

Plugins & apps– Offering a plugin or app may be a bit beyond your ability. If you have a coder friend, they may be able to help you create one. There are also some apps/plugins that you can buy with the right to brand them as your own and give them away.

Free trial– Nothing makes people more willing to take the plunge and take a chance than a free, limited-time trial of a product or service.

Contest entry– Hold a contest. Give new sign-ups an extra entry into the contest or drawing. Another option might just be the standard “enter to win” strategy.

Worksheets– You can give away a variety of worksheets. In fact, you may want to provide a bundle of them. They could include a traffic tracking spreadsheet, keyword worksheet, content ordering form (with the info you need), affiliate product sheet, promotion calendar, etc.

Free consultation– Help your audience get to know you by offering a free consultation, when they sign up. The consultation can be done through email, on the phone or via skype.

Book preview– Offer a free preview of your next book (a few chapters) or digital product. This is also a great way to make pre-sales before launch. Ask for feedback.

Freebie of the month membership– Offer a free membership to a freebie of the month club. People love freebies. You can provide a helpful, valuable, free download item, such as images, checklists, guides, comparison charts, calendar pages, and more. You could also create a more complex, related item or package to sell each month.

Tangible Items– Offer a tangible item such as a promotional calendar, pen, t-shirt, 3-ring binder, or other helpful promotional items. This is especially appropriate if your target market is mostly made up of local business owners.

Encouraging people to opt in and subscribe to your list is an important part of making your business successful. The major money is still in the email list, even when you market in other places. Get your target market on your mailing list by giving them something helpful and valuable, while you build a better relationship and make more sales.

Having a large following on Facebook is great. But if you have a ton of likes and only a handful of true fans, then it doesnt matter how awesome your brand is. Your posts still arent likely to be seen.

Facebook doesnt just look at the number of likes you haveit also considers how much engagement youre getting. Fortunately, there are still a few things you can do to boost your engagement levels

Ask Questions

Questions are a simple way to get people commenting on your posts. The important thing is to ask questions that are relevant to your brand. For example, if youre a cosmetics brand, you might ask, Whats the #1 makeup item youre never without?

As people begin answering, go through and like their comments. If they ask a question in return or need help with an issue, take a moment to respond. By doing this, Facebooks algorithms will think your post is trending and display it to even more of your followers.

Share Images

The best types of images to share are funny ones (think memes) or inspirational ones. Unless your business is a religious institution or a political niche, avoid touching on these two topics in your images. They can result in alienating a large portion of your followers.

Again, you want to stay on topic so the images align with your brand. For example, if you sell skydiving lessons, then a funny post about fear of heights might be appropriate. But your audience may not find a dog joke as funny.

Go Live

Facebook loves promoting live videos to their users and theyll even send your followers a notification that youve gone live. Thats why you want to use Facebook to start broadcasting if you havent yet.

Dont just pop in for a quick chat on Facebook Live. The social media giant prefers to see videos that are 15-45 minutes in length. Viewers watch live videos with the understanding that theyll be getting meatier content, so show up ready to share valuable insights or tips.

Use Facebooks Graphics

Sometimes, you want to share a quick text update with your Facebook fans. The only problem is that its easy for text posts to get lost in the noise of a busy newsfeed.

You can overcome this problem by using the graphics Facebook has included in their posting area. Login and type your status. Then click on the backgrounds to choose onethe backgrounds are the tiny colorful squares you see at the bottom of your posting area.

Link to Interesting Content

Linking to outside content on Facebook can also be a good idea. But you want to pick content thats fascinating. Linking to ho-hum content trains your community to ignore your suggestions.

Instead, only link to the very best posts and articles online. Look for headlines that will grab attention and inspire your audience to click. Remember: if it doesnt inspire you to click, it probably wont appeal to your followers either.

Ask Your Followers to Share

This is another simple tactic that can boost your engagement rate. But you only want to ask your followers to share a post when its truly valuable. Posting 20 updates about your new sale and telling your followers to share each post will get you ignored.

Instead, post something that your community will naturally want to tell their friends about. For example, you could ask them to share a post that features a 20% discount coupon code or a chance to win a prize (per Facebooks advertising rules, sharing cannot be a requirement in your contest).

Pay Attention to What Works

Study your Facebook insights. This is the best way to track your engagement level and see which posts are succeeding. Pay attention to what your most popular posts have in common.

For example, you may notice most of your engagement comes when you post Facebook Live videos but you get very little engagement from regular videos. Now that you know that, you can transition to doing just Facebook Live videos to keep your fans interested.

Facebook is one of the best social networks to use for your marketing. But like every tool, you need to invest the time and the energy into making sure its working right for your business.

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